Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) (34 page)

Robert’s words made a deep impression on the trio. They looked at him in astonishment, waiting on tenterhooks for what he was going to say next.

“The most important thing of all is to ask ourselves whether we are ready to protect the planet and ourselves from all those threats which surround it. Wouldn’t it more useful to spend money on preparing ourselves rather than on weapons of mass destruction? Throughout history, great civilizations have died through arrogance. Doesn’t their destruction teach us anything?”

Mary and Richard glanced sideways at each other. They both knew very well what lost civilization the other had in mind.

“Past events and the privilege of being able to live on this planet should make man reconsider the need to reshuffle their priorities when it comes to problems which affect society. In recent years, we have become more concerned about some of them, such as environmental damage, lack of clean drinking water and climate change. However, we still don’t talk enough about the impact of extraterrestrial bodies and it’s actually a very important subject, given that the chance of a meteorite falling to Earth in the next two decades is extremely high.”

I
t was a sunny day in Mexico. Only a couple of clouds on the horizon cooled the land as their shadows passed over it. James Oldrich was in his room lying in bed, watching spellbound as the ceiling fan went round and round without stopping. Over two hours had gone by since the videoconference with his brother and it was still playing in his mind. His two friends believed that it was premature to think about asteroids, but it was important to bear that option in mind.

He turned to his right and looked at the front page of the American newspaper he had bought in a shop near the hotel. At first, the headline didn’t seem to be about anything interesting. As is the tradition after a new U.S. president has been elected, the image of Barack Obama appeared plastered on the front of most American newspapers. But something caught his attention. Accompanying the picture of the U.S. president on the cover was a familiar photo, around one square inch, which sat below a spine-chilling headline. It read:
IDENTIFIED: U.S. PASSENGER FOUND DEAD IN CAIRO AIRPORT. PAGE 45.

James opened the newspaper in the middle. His eyes scanned the foot of the page with uncharacteristic speed in search of the number mentioned on the front… page 61, 59, 47, 45. When he saw the full-size picture his heart stopped, the hair on his body stood on end and a deep shiver ran through his body. It was Anthony. According to the article, an autopsy had been carried out on the body which confirmed that he had died from a heart attack just as the aircraft was preparing to take off. When it landed, one of the air stewardesses thought he was asleep and tried to wake him up. When she touched his arm however, she noticed that his body was considerably colder than expected so she called a doctor, who pronounced him dead.

Before his mind was clouded with guilt and made him unable to think clearly, he picked up the telephone in his room and dialed Richard’s number. After a few seconds’ wait which seemed like a lifetime, he was put through. Richard was talking to somebody.

The slamming of the door as it shut startled the few tourists who were making their way to their rooms. Some even stood to one side to make way for the young man who was running through the second floor corridor with a shaken expression. He intended to get in the elevator but anxiety got the better of him and he instead ran up the stairs which lead to the next floor up where his friend was staying.

They’ve killed him, I’m sure,
he thought as he took a big leap and cleared the last three steps.
They must know where we are. They’re using us!

The layout of both the corridor and the rooms was exactly the same as on the floor James had been assigned. When he finally reached Room 306, he banged noisily on the door but nobody opened it.

He was just about to give in when he remembered that although the hotel was relatively new, the security system for the rooms was old-fashioned; the doors were opened with metal keys and there wasn’t any safety mechanism on the outside handle. In other words, the door could be opened from the corridor if it hadn’t been locked.

Maybe he didn’t lock it from inside,
he thought as he turned the handle.

No sooner had he opened it than a breeze of fresh air hit him sharply in the face, causing the thick curtains inside to inflate as if a huge balloon had taken up the whole room. The door to the terrace would most likely have been left open and the draught generated would have pushed them outside. The bathroom was empty, so he knew Richard wasn’t having a shower. His suitcase lay on top of the bed, yet to be unpacked. Richard’s laptop sat on the desk with the operating system loaded, but without the password having been entered. It gave the impression that something had interrupted him before he even had a chance to log in.

He heard a familiar murmuring behind the curtains, on the terrace. When he pulled them apart slightly, James wasn’t surprised to see Richard talking on the telephone. He was leaning on the railings with his back to the door. Judging by his tone of voice, he was having a heated conversation with somebody, and although his voice sounded sad and desperate, he didn’t look nervous.

He knew full well that it was rude to eavesdrop on a private conversation, so he was about to close the curtains again when he heard something that made him spin around.

“How did Anthony die?”

James’ body was literally paralyzed behind the window.
Richard knew about Anthony’s death and he didn’t tell me anything? But… who the hell is he talking to?
He looked him up and down and continued to listen to the conversation.

“We’re going to visit the two Pyramids of Teotihuacan in an hour. I want a group to constantly monitor James and Mary’s movements. We mustn’t let them out of our sight, is that clear?”

Those words hurt him like a sharp dagger being plunged deep into his heart. He could barely suppress his nausea and nearly vomited on the carpet. This was his best friend, they had known each other since they were children. Maybe he was responsible for everything that was going on? How could he do something so reprehensible?

His words were giving him away, without a shadow of a doubt. He was the one behind the assassins, responsible for almost getting them killed twice… the one to blame for Anthony’s death. Rage began to cloud his mind. For a moment he wanted to open the door, go out to the terrace, confront him and throw him over the railings, but he felt unable to do so.

“James trusts me completely,” he went on, smiling. “Pay close attention to Mary, I think she’s starting to get suspicious. I don’t want any trouble, so from now on all our contact will be via e-mail. And have you found out the meaning behind the drawing? The one with the twelve signs of the zodiac in runic symbols? I still haven’t told James. He doesn’t know that I know what they are.”

James grinded his teeth as he clenched his fist against his thigh.
He’s despicable,
he thought, his face pained with great disappointment.
I have to warn Mary.

“Okay, keep on investigating.”

Seeing as Richard was about to end the conversation, James had to hurry up and get out of the room before he found him or they would be done for. He drew the curtains again and ran to the door. He was distracted by the sound of the doorknob to the terrace and bumped into the desk. Luckily, his quick reflexes prevented the laptop from falling to the floor. When James opened the door, Richard was still looking between the curtains for a way in. When he finally found it, James had already escaped into the corridors of the third floor.

“J
ust a minute!” shouted Mary as she took a pair of jeans out of her suitcase and threw them on the bed. “I’m getting dressed!”

The woman’s words didn’t seem to placate him. Her visitor kept hammering on her door, this time with much more force.

“Open up quick!”

Mary pulled on her sky blue T-shirt and she ran to the door after tying back her hair.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, James. I’m by myself. Open the door!”

Still stressed by the need to hurry, the woman opened the door to her room. She was clad only in white panties and the blue T-shirt, leaving James speechless. “What’s the matter?” asked Mary as she sat down on the bed.

Her long, tanned legs, together with the sheen of her moisturized skin made her even more desirable. James looked around in distress, without opening his mouth. His head was somewhere else, recalling their first encounter, the first time he caressed her skin with his hands, their first embrace, their first kiss. What he had discovered just a few minutes before had left him frozen to the core. Never in this world would he want anybody to lay a finger on her, even less so now that he was in love with her.

“James, are you listening to me?”

“Yes,” he replied, coming back down to earth. “We have to escape.”

“What?!”

James tossed the newspaper onto the bed. Mary stood up when she saw the headline.

“They killed Anthony! They drugged him on the plane!” he cried in a voice which was higher than normal as he paced around the room. “They know our movements. They’ve been using us!”

“That’s impossible - we’ve always used Albert’s private jet. How could they know where we are now? Besides, we always use false names when we book hotel rooms.”

“It’s all down to Richard. That bastard is helping them.”

“What! Are you sure?!”

“When I read the article, I called him to talk about it. I didn’t get an answer so I thought he must have been having a shower and I went into his room. He was on the balcony talking on the phone - I guess it was with his boss. He was selling us out. Today they’re going to watch our movements, yours in particular.”

“Mine?! Why mine?!”

“Richard thinks that you’re suspicious of him. Have you noticed anything odd about his behavior in the last few days?”

“No. But now I come to think of it… I saw him talking on the phone a few days ago and he looked nervous. When he’d hung up, I went over to see what was happening but he batted away all my questions. I decided to shut up and not interfere. Who do you think he’s working for?”

A knot in throat prevented him from speaking. He was completely heartbroken. “I don’t know. I’ve known him for so many years, I never thought he’d be capable of selling our lives in such a despicable way. I’m really disappointed.” A tear fell from his eyes. “We have to escape.”

Mary took his hand and led him to the bed. Once there, she kissed him tenderly on the cheek, looked him deep in his bloodshot eyes and tried to console him with a tight hug. “If that’s what you want, we’ll abandon the search and run away. But… do you think they’ll let us escape with our lives? Don’t you think we should keep looking for the second fragment until we hatch an escape plan?”

“It’s just that… I don’t want them to hurt you.”

“I know, James, but think about this rationally. They won’t touch us as long as they think we’re useful. They need us to complete the
Trifariam
. We need to know what their plan of action is and then organize our escape.”

“Before I left, I heard Richard suggest that they put an end to their telephone communications. They’re going to use e-mail from now on.”

“And do you know his e-mail address? I have a friend who owes me a small favor, I think he could easily find out the password. That way, we would always know about his intentions, his plans. We would know what to do!”

“Yes, I know his university address but he’s probably using another one. Even so, we could get into is personal computer and, with any luck, his e-mail client will display the address he is using. There’s just one problem.”

“What?” she asked, intrigued.

“His computer itself has a password. Without that, we can’t get inside.”

W
hen the elevator doors opened, Richard looked around the room for his two friends. At first he couldn’t see them among the people sitting on the comfortable sofas in the suite, devouring the various copies of Mexican newspapers and magazines. He walked through the front door of the hotel. The sun’s rays blinded him momentarily until they became accustomed to the daylight. Just a few feet away, sitting on a wooden bench, his two friends were looking at a park located just in front of the hotel. Richard walked over towards them. The din coming from a group of children playing with an old, almost deflated football rendered whatever conversation his friends were having inaudible to his ears.

As soon as James became aware of Richard’s presence, he slipped out his left hand and laid it on Mary’s thigh, squeezing it slightly and indicating to him that now wasn’t the time for them to talk. He suddenly noticed how his throat was beginning to close up, making breathing difficult. No doubt he had yet to digest the news which was causing him so much distress, disillusionment and desperation that he wanted to shake Richard with all his strength, demanding explanations, but that would precipitate his and Mary’s demise. They had to pretend or it would be the end of them.

“Here I am. Have you been waiting long?”

James kept his gaze on the horizon without saying a word, as if he hadn’t heard him. However, anger was starting to build exponentially inside him and although Richard seemed to be unaware, Mary picked up on it instantly. She gently dug her elbow into his ribs, which was enough to pacify him slightly and remind him that their lives were in danger.

“We’ve only just left the hotel,” she said eventually.

She seemed to be telling the truth but something was starting to make the paleographer uneasy. Maybe it was the way they had mumbled to each other when they saw him appear, together with his friend’s indifference to him, which had him worried more than usual, making him think that they were hiding something, but his thoughts dissipated when James stood up from the bench and patted him on the back, leading them to the taxi.

It must be their first tiff,
Richard thought.

The journey to the ruins of Teotihuacan was rather uncomfortable. James barely spoke for the whole journey and only answered a couple of questions that Richard had asked him not through curiosity, but to check that he was okay. Mary tried to explain to her friends about the most important features of the civilization which populated this area around two thousand years ago. They remained there for over seven centuries, being home to over two hundred thousand people in total who occupied a surface of around three and a half square miles.